Submarine.



c. E. @I H. E. BECK.

SUBMARINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY a. I9I5.

Patented Jan. 4, 1916.

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C. E. & H. E. BECK. SUBMARINL APPLICATION FILED MAY 8,1915.

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Patented Jan. 4, 1916.

vllllllllI/IIIIIIIIIIIII/IlIlIIIIllll/I fz l/[Ilulllllllllllllllll/111111111111111' A .LHIIII CHARLES E. BECK AND FIAB/OLD E. BECK, OF EL MONTE, CALIFORNIA.

SUBMARINE.

Appiication meri May s, 1915. serial No. 26,694.

in Submarinea'or" which the following is specification.

This invention relates to a submarine.

It is the object of this invention to 'pro-v vide a construction for submarines lwhereby an inclosed portion or compartment thereof, preferably the conning tower, may be readily detached from the main structure in event control of the submarine isv lost from any cause while submerged, and thereafter hoisted to the surface with the crew therein.

Another object is to provide means connecting with the detachable compartment of thesubmarine whereby its submerged position may be indicated and whereby the compartment may be raised to the sur-face without the necessity of making direct connections therewith. Y

A Vfurther object is to provide means adapted to' be operated by water pressure for automatically releasing a signal buoy or float and which may be adjusted to operate automatically at any predetermined depth or actuated manually as'occasion requires. Another obiect is to provide a reel for carrying the hoisting cable attached to the detachable structure so mounted and arranged that the cable may be freely unwound therefrom in event the submarine be turned on its side or inclined longitudinally when at rest in a submerged position.

A further object Vis to provide means whereby a cable attached at oneend to a demountable compartment orV a. submarine and secured at its `opposite end to a oat may be coiled intermediate its ends so that upward movement of the float will operate vto unwind the cable without danger of en- Y tanglement thereof.-

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanving drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the upper portion or" a submarine. showing the detachable conning tower and the signal and cable connections therewith. Fig. 2 is a detailed view in side elevation of the autospeciacanpn' @flatter-5 raient.

parts broken away, as seen in the direction lindicated by the arrow 10 in Fig. 9. Fig.

matic signal-buoy releasing mechanism.

Fig. 8 is a detail in perspective of the luni- `versal pivotal mounting of the cable carrying reel. Fig. d is a detail in perspective of the latch for locking the cable carrying reel against displacement. Fig. 5 is a detail in side elevation of the releasing trigger. Fig.

`6`is a detail end view of the setting device for adjusting the automatic releasing mechanism tooperate atpredetermined pressures, as seen in the direction indicated by. the arrow 6 in Fig. 2. F ig. 7 is an enlarged horizontal section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail section on the" line 8-78 of Fig. 7; yFig. "9 `is an enlarged.V detail section on" the line 9 9 of Fig. 7,v showing the device for detachably `connecting the conning tower tothe submarine deck. Fig. 10 is a view in elevation withV 11 is a view in section and'elevation on the line 11-11 of Fig. 2.

More speciiically, v15 indicates the top or deck of a submarine and 16 denotes a conning tower or superstructure demount'ably carried thereon. This superstructure 16 is formed with side lwalls 17. a top wall 18 and a Hoor 19, thus forming an inclosed compartment which preferably extends above the deck 15. A man-hole 20 is pro-V vided inthe top 18 for entrance to and exit from the superstructurel and a man-hole 21 is formed in the floor 19 opening to a tube 22 leading `to the interior of the submarine' below the deck 15. The man-hole 20 is designed to be closed bv a suitable cover of usual construction. The man-hole 21 is designed to be closed when it is desired to def tach the superstructure and after the crew 9 terior `of the tube 22; the plate 23 being 100 adaptedto4 be detachablv connectedlto a threadedr stem` 25 carried bv a removable spider frame 26 and formed with a hand l wheel 27. The frame 26 is adapted to span` the man-hole 21 and to be supported bv the ice floor 19 when it is desired to clampthe lplate 23 in position against the lower icace ot the floor 19 to close the man-hole 21,'as shown in Fig. 8. The tube is designed to be closed to prevent theentrance ct water 11e yPatented J an. d. 1916. l

into the interior oi the submarine therethrough when the superstructure 16 is detached. rhis is e'l'lected betere closing the man-hole 21 by clamping a plate Q8 on an annular flange Q9 carried on the inner wall Oi the tube 'the plate QS being here shown as secured against displacement by means oi a bar 30 extending above the plate 28 and seated thereon with its ends engaged by hand screws 32 carried by brackets 33 on the flange The hand screws are adapted to be screwed to bear upon the bar 30 to press and hold the plate Q8 against the upper tace of the iiange 29.

Mounted on the deck 15 and surrounding the wall 17 in slidable contact with the latter is an upwardly extending` flange which is adapted to hold the superstructure against lateral displacement. Att-ached to the vflange 34 at suitable intervals apart are standards 35 which extend upwardly alongside the outer face of the wall 17. The standards are formed with recesses 36 on their inner faces, the upper walls oi which are beveled. as particularly shown in 9; the recesses 36 extending opposite openings 37 formed in the wall 17. Caps 36 extend over the openings o7 on the inner face of the wall 17 and are Jtermed with recesses on their inner faces.

Extending through the caps 38 are threaded stems 40 which are pivotally connected to blocks 41 slidably mounted in the space formed by the openings 37 and the recesses 36 and 39. Each block 41 is rectangular in form and has a beveled upper edge arranged to engage the beveled upper wall of the recesses 36 and operate as a wedge to clamp the superstructure in position on the deck 15 and securely hold it against displacement. The blocks 41 are adapted to be retracted into the recesses 39 out oit engagement with the walls ogt the recesses 36, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 9, when it is desired to detach the superstructure. The retraction of the blocks 41 is effected by rotating the threaded stems 40.

Connecting with the superstructure 16 on the upper portion thereof is a suitable cable or cha-in 42 which leads to and is wound on a reel 43. rThis reel 43 comprises a central bar 44 on which a disk 45 is rigidly mounted; the cable being wound on the bar 44 in layers of graduated lengths so that the cable will assume the form oi a` cone with the innermost portion ot the cable extending from the bar 44 adjacent the base disk 45 and with the outer portion ot the cable extending from the apex or the cone thus formed ad: jacent the end of the bar 44. rllhe bar 44 is pivoted at 46 to a yoke 47 which in turn is pivoted at 48 at right angles to the pivot 46 to lugs 49 on a base 50 secured to the deck 15. This mounting of the bar 44 permits of a universal pivotal movement of the bar without rotation thereof so that the bar may be disposed in a vertical position irrespective or' the lateral or longitudinal inclination of the submarine; this arrangement d cilitating the unwinding of the cable Jtrom the conical coil endwise ot the latter on exerting a vertical pull on the outer portion thereof. The conical coil is designed to bc normally disposed horizontally as shown in Fig. 1, and locked against movement, with the apex of the cone extending toward the forward end oi" the submarine so as to citer thc least resistance to the advance et the submarine when it is submerged. rThe locking of the coil is effected by means of a latch 51 having a head portion formed with a square vsocket 53 for the reception ot the squared end of the bar 44, as shown in Fig. 4. lllhen the bar 44 is engaged by thc latch 51 it will be held against sidewise and vertical moven'ient, and rocking ol2 the conical coil will be obviated. rhe latch 5l is pivoted to a suitable support and is normally held in engagement with the bar 44 by means ot a spring 54, as shown in Fig.

Mounted on the deck 15 is a base iframe which forms a seat for a dependent fran'ie carried on the under side of a ioat or buoy 57. The trame 56 is detachably secured in place on the frame o5 by means of an arm 58 on the trame 55 which engages a link 59 carried by the frame 56 and is in turn engaged by a latch 60 pivoted on the iframe 55, as shown in Fig. 2, the latch GO being designed to be retracted to disengage the arm 5S when Ait is desired to release the ioat 57. The 'frame 56 carries a rcel 61 on which a. cable 62 is wound; this cable connecting with the cable 42 wound on the conicalL reel.

Extending parallel. with theI deck 15 is a, rod 63 which. is mounted to slide longitudi nally and extends from a. point adjacent the wall 17 of the superstructure through the irame and through a bearing lvllounted on the outer end of the rod is a pair of spaced collars 65 between which the lower lportion of the latch 51 extends; a pair ci corresponding spaced collars 66 being formed on the rod 6l remote from the collars 65 betweei which the lower portion the latch 60 extends. A collar 67 is mounted on the inner end of the rod 63 and is adapted to be engaged by a trigger 68 p` oted on a standard 69; this trigger being normally held against retraction by cn gagement with an arcuate tace 70 forme-1l on a trip lever 71 pivoted at 'Z22 on the standard 69 adjacent the trigger 68, as shown in Fig. 5. rillhe trip lever 71 is formed with a flat face 73 which when the lever 71 is rocked inwardly will release the trigger 66 and permit the rod n t 4 oo to be advanced to actuate the latches 51 and GO. This adu Vance movement ot the rod 63 is eilccted by means of a spring 74 wound on the rod-63 and bearing between the bearing 64 and a collar 75 on the rod; the spring 74 being under a state of compression when the rod 63 is retracted and engaged by the trigger 68. as shown in Fig. 2.

Means are providedfor automatically actuating the trip lever 71by water pressure when the submarine has been submerged to a predetermined depth, tok release the float and vthe pivoted cable carrying reel. The following structure is provided for this purpose: Mounted on the wall 17 of the superstructure over an opening 76 formed therein is a corrugated diaphragm 77 preferably arranged exteriorly of the wall 17. Connecting with the diaphragm 77 is a rod 78 the outer end of which is provided with a pairI of spaced collars 7 i) between which the upper end of the trip lever 71 extends. Encircling the opening 76 on the innervface of the wall 17 is an internally threaded tube 80 in which an externally threaded sleeve 81 is adjustably mounted, and interposed between the sleeve 81V and the diaphragm 77 is a spring 82 arranged to yieldably oppose piessure on the diaphragm 77. The pressure of the spring 82 may be adjusted by rotating the sleeve 817 the latter being fitted with a hand hold 83 for this purpose. The outer end of the sleeve 8l is provided with gage marks 84 airanged'toregister with a reading line 85 on the end of the tube 80, as shown in Fig. 6 to indicate the pressure of the spring 82. By rotating the sleeve 81 to advanceor retract it in relation to the tube 80,

the tension of the spring 82 may be setsov that a predetermined pressure on the dia-n By forming the trip lever 71 with thearcuate face 70 this lever may be freely rocked in either direction on luctuationsof the diaphragm 77 as occasioned by varying water Apressures thereon without actuating the trigger 68; the trigger 68 being released only f when the-trip lever 71 has been rocked sufiiciently far by depression of the diaphragm 77 to'dispose the flat face 7 3 in a position to release the trigger 687 as indicated in-dotted lines in Fig. 5.

Assuming the submarine to be submerged beyond the predetermined depth, the operation will be as follows: Pressure of water on the diaphragm 77 will operate to depress it in opposition to thev spring82 and thereby act through the medium of the rod 78 and the outermost collar 79 ,thereon `to rock the Y trip leverv 7l into thetriggerv releasing posi-A tion. VThe spring 74 will then operate to suddenlyfadvance-the rod-63 so that a forcible impact will be delivered to the latches 51 and 60 thereby retracti'ng the latches and releasing the reel bar 44 `and `the float engaging arm V58. The 4buoyancy of the yfloat 57 will .cause it to rise from its seat .on the frame 55 and out .of engagement with the arm58. lThe float in moving upward will Vexert a pull on the cable 62 which-will be VThe float 57 on reaching the surface will denote the location ofthe submerged submarine so that those coming to the assistance of the craft mav on hauling in the cable 62 unwind stronger cables from the coil 43v which connect` with the, superstructure 16. The reel bar 44 being held against rotation by reason ofy its pivotal mounting and being Y permitted to extend in the direction ofthe pull of the cable being Vunwound therefrom, insures against entanglement of the cable and permits ready unwinding thereof. These cables may include air hose andelectrical conductors connecting with the superstructure by means of which air may be ,forced into the latter and signaling communication-` had with the crew.

If it is found to be impossible to operate the submarine the crew may enter the superstructure 16 and after closing the tube 22 and themaii-hole 21 `may detach the superstructureby retracting the blocks 41 out vof engagement with the standards 35, whereupon the superstructure may be hauled to the surface by means of its connecting cable 42; the superstructure 16 being readily sepa.

' rated from the float and reel releasing mechanism by reason of the trip lever 71 not being directly connected toits actuating-bar 78.

It ismanifestthat various changes in the construction and arrangement ofthe parts may be resorted to as occasion requires and particularly asv necessitated by the application of theinvention to various types of submarines or submersibles `without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. i

`What we claim is: v

. 1; In a submarine, a detachable superlosv iio

structure, a cable attached thereto, a reel on the submarine around Which said cable is Wound, a float attached to said cable, and

means for detachably connectino' said floatto4 the submarine.

2. ,ln a submarine, a detachable superstructure,a cable attached thereto, a reel on the submarine around which said cable is Wound, a float attached to said cable, means for detachably connecting said oat to the submarine, and means for automatically releasing' said float when the submarine has been submerp'edto a predetermined depth.

3. ln a submarine, a superstructure thereon, means for detachably connecting the superstructure to the submarine substructure, a cable attached to the superstructure, a reel on which said cable is Wound, a Hoat connected to said cable, means for detachn ably connecting' the iloat to the submarine, and means adapted to be operated by Water pressure for automatically releasing' the ioat when the submarine has been submerged to a predetermined depth.

Je. ln a submarine, a detachable superstructure, a cable connected thereto, a reel mounted against rotation on which said cable is Wound, a float to Which said cable is attached, and means for detachably mounting' the float.

5. ln a submarine, a detachable compartment thereon, a float, a reel mounted to have universal pivotal movement Without i'ctary movement, and a cable Wound on said reel ivith one end connected to the l'loat and its other end connected to the detachable. compartment.

G. In a submarine, a detachable compartment thereon, a float, means controlled by Water pressure for Vautomatically releasing said float, a reel mounted to have universal pivotal movement Without rotary movement,

and a. cable 'Wound on said reel with one end connected to the 'float and its other end connected to the detachable compartment.

7. ln a submarine, a detachable compartment, a float, cable connecting said float to said compartment, means for detachably mounting' said itloat, and means operable by water pressure for automatically releasing the float when the submarine has become submerged to a predetermined depth.

8. In a submarine, a detachable compartment, a float, a cable connecting said float to said compartment, means for detachably mounting said tloat, and means tor releasing the float.

9. ln a submarine, a detachable comparty ment, a cable, one end of Which is connected to said compartment, a reel bar around which said cable is Wound, a pivotal mounting; for said bar whereby the latter may have a universal rocking movement Without rotary movement, means for locking said bar, a lloa-t to which the other end' of the cable is connected, means for detachably mounting saidL float, and mechanism for releasing; said float and reel bar.

l0. In a. submarine, a detachable compartment, a cable, one end of which is connected to said compartment, a reel bar' around which said cable is Wound, a pivotal mounting` for said bar .vhereby the latter may have a universal rocking movement Without rotary movement, means for locking said bar, a float to which the other end ot the cable is connected, means i r detachably mounting said loat, and mechanism for releasing' said float and reel bar adapted to be automatically operated by Water pressure.

ll. In a submarine, a detachable compartment, a cable, one end oi 'which is connected to said compartment, a. reel bar around Which said cable is Wound, a pivotal mounting' for said bar whereby the latter may have a universal rocking movement Without rotary movement, means for locking said bar, 'float to which the other end of the cable is connected, means for detachably nnmntinp,` said float, a mechanism for releasing' said float and reel bar adapted to be automatically operated by Water pressure, and means for adjusting the releasing` mechanism to operate at predetermined pressures.

l2. In a submarine, a detachable compartment, a cable having one end connected with said compartment, a reel bar around which said cable is Wound, a pivotal mounting for said bar whereby the latter ,vill have a universal rocking` movement Without rotation, a latch for locking said bar, a float to Which the other end of the cable is connected, a latch engaging' said float, and means for operating?,` said latches to release the reel bar and float.

13. In a submarine, a detachable compartment, a cable having' one end connected 'with said compartment, a reel bar around which said cable is Wound, a pivotal mounting tor said bar whereby the latter Will have universal rocking' movement without rotation, a latch for locking' said bar, a float to which the other end of the cable is connected, a latch engaging said oat, and means for operating' said latches to release the reel bar and float adapted to be actuated by Water pressure at predetermined depths.

14. In a submarine, a detachable compartment, a cable having one end connected With said compartment, a reel bar around Which said cable is wound, a pivotal mounting for said bar whereby the latter Will have a universal rocking' movement Without rotation, a latch for locking' said bar, a float to Which the other end of the vcable is connected, a latch engaging` said float, and means Jfor operatingl said latches to release the reel bar and ioat adapted to be actuated by Water pressure at predetermined depths, comprising a reciprocable bar connected to said latches, a spring for advancing said bar, a.

trigger for holding said bar in a retracted position, a diaphragm, and means operable on the depression of said diaphragm for actuating' the trigger to release the har.

, l5. ln a submarine, a detachable compartment, a cable havingone end connected With said compartment, a reel bar around which said cable is Wound, a pivotal mounting :for said bar whereby the latter Will have a universal rocking movement Without rota-` tion, a latch for locking said bar, a float t0 which the other end of the cable is connected, a latch engaging said float, and means for operating said latches to release the reel har and loat adapted to loe actuated byrvvater pressure atfpredetermined depths, comprising a reciproc'able bar con nected to said latches,a spring for advanc ing saidy har, a trigger for holding said bar in a retracted position, a diaphragm, means operable on the depression of said diaphragm for actuating` the trigger to release the bar, and means for adjusting the diav CHARLES E. BECK. Y HAROLD E. BECK.

Copies of this. patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

We claim the foregoing We 

